Helen Wright - Information about Helen
A selection of links to information about Helen will be listed here - the page is currently under construction. The following links are examples ...
Helen Wright - Lifetime Legend Award 2023
Helen Wright, Convener of Social Work and Health
Guest of Honour at 49th Women of the Year Lunch and Assembly in 2004
Al-Maktoum Institute Fellow
Councillor Wright is national voice for Community Justice
Helen Wright's Maiden Speech in Dundee District Council 1980
Helen Wright, Justice of the Peace and Magistrate
First Female Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of Dundee
Helen became the first female Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of Dundee where she carried out her duties with extraordinary commitment, energy and innovation. She was very popular with the public and had many successes, often in the face of enormous pressures that were likely only to be experienced by the first woman to hold this post in this particular environment. As well as being the first (and only to date) female lord provost in Dundee, Helen was the only lord provost to be forced out of office - these two factors are no coincidence! Helen made the office of Lord Provost more open to the public, less formal and also made the workings more transparent. She opened up the City Chambers to members of the public and encouraged groups to visit. Helen also showed a great ability to bring people together and work with people from all walks of life.
A publication, which will come out in due course, will take a fascinating look at Helen's time as the city's first female lord provost. It is an enthralling account of a woman's determination to make positive change whilst constantly fighting bitter rivals who undermined her at every opportunity as part of their campaign to remove her from the post and replace her with one of their own.Helen's heroic stance against vested interests, male-dominated institutions, brutal opposition, secretive societies and, as events continue to show, the narrow personal ambitions, egos and the narcissism of opponents will be shown. Helen's magnificent stance against fierce opposition changed things forever and helped consolidate the place of Dundee women at the highest levels. Helen had once again blazed the trail for other women to follow. With more twists, turns, plots, frame-ups and conspiracies than a political intrigue fantasy, the real story is revealed about the orchestrated campaign of traps and manoeuvres designed to undermine Helen at every turn. "... it was often said that Dundee would never have a female lord provost ... it was to her great credit she achieved so much, faced the challenges head on and, with massive public support, continues to serve the people of Dundee and beyond". The full fascinating story of Helen's battles whilst lord provost will be told in a future publication but a little further information can be found under Helen's CV and biographical details on this page..
